Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements: Nursing Diagnosis & Care Plan
🎓 Educational reference. Match to your patient's actual assessment data and have your instructor review it.
Definition: Intake of nutrients insufficient to meet metabolic needs.
Related factors ("related to")
- Poor appetite or intake
- Increased metabolic demand
- Difficulty swallowing or absorbing
Defining characteristics ("as evidenced by")
- Weight loss, low intake
- Weakness, poor wound healing
- Low albumin/prealbumin
Sample goals / outcomes
- Patient maintains or gains toward goal weight and meets nutritional targets.
Nursing interventions
- Monitor intake, weight, and labs
- Offer small, frequent, preferred, high-calorie/protein foods
- Involve dietitian; treat nausea/pain that limit intake
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Build a care plan freeImbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements nursing diagnosis: FAQ
What is the Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements nursing diagnosis?
Intake of nutrients insufficient to meet metabolic needs.
What are the related factors for Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements?
Common related factors: Poor appetite or intake; Increased metabolic demand; Difficulty swallowing or absorbing. In your care plan, write it as "Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements related to [factor] as evidenced by [your patient's data]."
What are nursing interventions for Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements?
Key interventions: Monitor intake, weight, and labs; Offer small, frequent, preferred, high-calorie/protein foods; Involve dietitian; treat nausea/pain that limit intake — each with a rationale in your plan.
For nursing education only — NOT medical advice and not a clinical decision-making tool. Nothing here should be used to assess, diagnose, or treat any real patient. Care plans and answers are unverified study drafts to review with your instructor or a licensed clinician and adapt to the individual patient and your institution’s protocols before any use.
Last reviewed 2026-07. Educational content in standard clinical language; not medical advice and not affiliated with NANDA-I/NIC/NOC.